From: muratlanne@gmail.com   
      
   "Rick"  wrote in message   
   news:jfh822$a7o$1@dont-email.me...   
   > ...   
   > I'm in the UK where we use a standardised 13A fused plug which is usually   
   > connected to a 230 volt 30A ring main for ordinary household appliances,   
   > with obviously heavier feeds for things like kitchen appliances such as   
   > electric cookers and maybe bathroom 12KW electric showers, how do they   
   > manage stuff like that stateside?   
      
   In the US portable consumer appliances are generally limited to 15A at 120V.   
   The wall outlets are rated at 15A or 20A, with only a few per circuit   
   breaker and separate circuits for overhead lighting.   
      
   Electric stoves and clothes dryers have dedicated 240V circuits with   
   appropriate plugs and breakers like 30A. This house had an electric   
   fireplace in the basement with a 240V 30A plug, which I use to run a large   
   air compressor. It's a standard low-cost tract house from 1970 and has a   
   200A service with 40 circuit breaker positions plus separately metered   
   electric hot water.   
      
   Hobbyist-sized arc welders and plasma cutters can be either hard-wired (as   
   are water heaters and large air conditioners) or they can use a 50A 240V   
   plug.   
      
   When we need occasional three phase power for machine tools we use static or   
   rotary converters or electronic Variable Frequency Drives running off 240V.   
      
   jsw   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)